Love In Four Acts
by Uchiha Evangeline
Summary: Four acts, four couples, four different ways of love. .:ZackAerith/CloudTifa/VincentLucrecia/DenzelMarlene:.
1. Just To See You

_****_A small colection of four stories based on Final Fantasy VII characters. Each one was inspired in one song. This ZackAerith was inspired by "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.

Hope you enjoy it! Next one is CloTi!

Disclaimer: FFVII belongs to Square Enix.

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_**Love in Four Acts**_

_****_**Act One: Just To See You  
**

To Aerith, unfortunately, that was a day like any other. She woke up early and went straight to the beautiful ruins of the little church on Sector 5 – the one place in Midgar where flowers managed to bloom. Being there, she took some of the wonderful flowers that gathered to form the rug on the centre, where the sunlight came from a hole in the ceiling, and put them on a basket.

Selling these flowers, for Aerith, was more than a way to gain some money. It was a way to bring happiness to her costumers.

That day, she decided to sit on a bench near Wall Market, where the constant traffic of people would help her to sell all the flowers on the morning. She wanted to return home early, in order to spend the day with her mother. She wasn't the type of girl to feel lonely – she was always happily in a good mood. But, even so, a lot of time had passed since Zack left town and that delay worried her. Did something happen to him? Did he hurt himself on his mission?

The questions were piling up in her mind and heart, keeping her from living her life the way she was used to.

"Hey, flower girl, are you listening?" a voice called.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I ended up getting distracted. Would you like to buy a flower, mister?"

"Yes! Three, please."

Aerith smiled at him and handed him the three flowers he picked.

"Did you hear what Johnny just said?" a man besides Aerith's costumer resumed the interrupted conversation. "Seems like those SOLDIERs, the ones that went out some weeks ago, are entering through the Sector 4 gate now."

Aerith was talking before she could stop herself.

"Are they really coming back? The SOLDIERs that went out on mission last month?"

The man was shocked with the girl's sudden interest.

"Yes. They are entering now. On Sector 4."

Aerith got up, bowed in gratitude and got out running the faster her small feet would let her run.

"This one is in love." She heard one of the men say, laughing.

Her cheeks went red with the statement, but she didn't stop running. She passed through empty streets, knocked garbish cans down, hit some people passing by and apologized hundreds of times. She stopped for a minute, trying to retrieve the air she momentarily lost. Putting her hands on her knees, she looked up into the sky and saw birds flying in the direction she was supposed to be heading to.

"I envy you!" She screamed, frightening them.

Taking a deep breath, she kept on running until she was able to discern the outlines of the entering gate. A few steps later she was able to see a group of uniformed men and, walking ahead of them, two without uniforms.

"Zack!" she called in a scream.

She still wasn't close enough, so he wasn't able to hear her. Dropping her flower's basket, she sped up and called again.

"Zack!"

This time he heard her and his eyes searched for her in the middle of that sea of unorganized mess.

Asking "excuse me" as she passed, Aerith sneaked herself through the crowd that was formed around the returning soldiers until no one was in her way. Opening the biggest smile, she jumped on his direction, in order to hug him. He caught her in the air, his smile a twin of hers.

"How did you know I was back?" he asked while crashing her between his arms.

"Two old men were talking about it on Wall Market."

"You ran from Wall Market to here?"

She nodded.

I would run a Thousand miles to see you.

He hugged her even tighter. He was the only one who knew how excruciating it was to be apart from her for so long.

"I love you, did you know that?"

Aerith blushed with the confession.

"I do too." She admitted. "I missed you."

"And I you."

Aerith smiled and got on the tip of her toes to give a quick and shy kiss on his lips. She would have ran whatever distance she had to, didn't matter how long it would take, as long as she was able to see him in the end.


	2. By Her Side

So, here comes act two! Hope you all enjoy it! Thank you all for the lovely reviews! Hope to see you on this chapter too! :D

The song is "The Only Hope For Me Is You" by My Chemical Romance!

Disclaimer: FFVII belongs to Square Enix!

* * *

_**Love In Four Acts**_

**Act Two: By Her Side **

Cloud woke up with the sun light shining on his face. A bit afar, he was able to hear music coming from Denzel and Marlene's room. He didn't know the song, but bit by bit he was sorting out the contents.

_"How should it be?_

_ Many years after the disasters we've seen_

_ What have we learned?_

_ Other than people burning in terrifying flames"_

He asked himself how that song could know about his past. How could it know about the horrible things he had not only seen, but also done? How could it understand so well everything he felt so deeply on the past few years? It seemed impossible anyone but them, the ones that were with him, could understand.

But that song was singing him.

_"I say it's okay_

_ I know you can tell_

_ Though you can see me smile_

_ I still think of the guns they sell"_

Shinra, meteor, Sephiroth, Jenova, Aerith. None of them got out of his mind. For years he had been haunted by this ever present ghosts and he was still surprised that he was able to put that all behind him. On those dark years, he doubted one day his life would be different. He doubted that he would be able to smile without remembering that, because of his lateness, Aerith was murdered by Sephiroth.

_"If there's a place that I could be_

_Then I'd be another memory_

_Can I be the only hope for you_

_Cause you're the only hope for me_

_And if we can't find where we belong_

_We'll have to make it on our own_

_Face all the pain and take it out_

_Because the only hope me _

_Is you alone"_

For two years he lived along with his guilt. For two years he hadn't known with which expression look into the eyes of Tifa, Marlene and Denzel and say everything was alright. Because it wasn't. He hadn't known how to deal with all that tormented his not so strong heart.

However, she saved him. Her eternal insistence, that he first ignored, was slowly infiltrating his mind, until he had no choice other than facing everything haunting him and putting an end to his needless suffering.

Undoubtedly, the extinction of _geostigma_ was one big step not only for him, but also for Denzel – so, that made it a big deal to their whole family. He could go back home without the fear of being another burden to Tifa and Marlene. She missed her. So much.

Day after day, he noticing it or not, she healed his shattered heart. It couldn't have been different, could it? After all, she was his first and only love. She had always been his only hope. But he had never imagined that he was her only hope too. And he would have never noticed if she hadn't kissed him suddenly, on a day Marlene and Denzel were out with Barret. She had told him she was tired of waiting and that she would do something at that moment, before it was too late.

On that day, Cloud smiled. He smiled and promised himself – beginning on that same day – he would pay more attention to her, so she would never had to explain something to him as if he were a two year-old again.

He was so happy with her and he knew for a fact she was happy with him too. It couldn't be any other way – they loved each other since they were little children.

For these and so many other reasons, Cloud couldn't hear that song playing without appreciating the sight of the woman lying by his side. She was still asleep, her breathing rhythmically calm, her black hair spread all over her pillow. She looked like an angel while she slept; even the shy and reserved Cloud couldn't deny it.

Softly and slowly, he ran his fingers through the hair covering her face and put them aside, unblocking his vision of the delicate face of the strongest woman he had ever met.

With the touch, Tifa opened her eyes.

"Is it late?" she asked.

"No." he answered, not taking his fingers away from her face.

"What is this sound?"

"Must be Denzel and Marlene."

She nodded and yawned. Cloud smiled.

"Did something happen while I was sleeping?" she laughed. Even being married now, Tifa knew by experience the Strife's nature hadn't change. He was still shy and didn't talk much. Not that it bothered her.

"No." he answered, raising an eyebrow.

She laughed once again.

"Don't look at me like that. You know it's not like this every day."

Cloud smiled and hugged her. She came closer to him, molding her body comfortably to him.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

He nodded. The song awakened his sentimental side, and all he wanted was to be near her. To be sure she would always be by his side was a huge relief.

"_The only hope for me_

_Is you_

_The only hope for me_

_Is you alone"_

As soon as the song stopped, they felt a slight movement between them. Tifa put a hand on her belly and smiled, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Did you feel that?"

He nodded and put his own hand besides hers. Once more, the movement happened.

"I guess he or she is sad that the song ended." Tifa said with a small laugh.

Cloud smiled when the baby kicked his mother's belly one more time.

"Or he is just very happy and decided to show us for the first time he indeed exists."

She laughed more openly.

"Believe me, I know our baby is there. Kicking or no kicking."

Cloud smiled to her and kissed her. Yes, she had saved him, in all manners possible: taking care of him, caring about him, screaming, loving, giving him a new family – a true one.

"Do you want to get up?" he asked when their lips were apart.

"No." she meowed lazily, hugging her beloved husband. "I want to sleep some more."

He laughed and agreed. He would stay for any time she wanted, as long as he was by her side.


	3. Loneliness

_****_So, here comes Vincent and Lucrecia! This one was inspired by "Through Glass" by Stone Sour. Beautiful song, I really recomend you all listen to it.

Disclaimer: FFVII belongs to Square Enix.

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**_Love In Four Acts_**

**Act Three: Loneliness**

Vincent had no idea for how long he had been there, looking at her through the ice that kept her body exactly how it was when they first met. Houjou… That damned scientist! How could he consider his own wife as one of his cursed experiments?

If he closed his eyes, he could easily imagine she was still alive, smiling, her white smock flying behind her as she walked. He could even hear her voice and her small and restrained laugh. His imagination was so good, sometimes he couldn't even tell his delusions apart from reality.

"Do you really intend to sit here the whole day again?" Yuffie's voice reverberated through the sea cave, hurting his sensitive hearing.

"Yuffie!" now it was Tifa's voice, in an almost whispered tone, way more suiting than the ninja's tone, reprehending the young girl.

"I will not apologize!" she exploded. "Vincent, you can't live in a past that will never come back! It's been decades, you said so yourself! Stop martyrizing yourself like this, as if she would open her eyes anytime now and come back to you!"

"Yuffie, that's enough." Tifa said, this time in a firmer tone. Vincent had only seen her using that kind of tone with Cloud, when doing something really stupid, or with the children, if they had done something worth reprehending. He could only imagine that Tifa, at that moment, was seeing Yuffie as one of her children.

He couldn't help but smile at his two friend interaction.

"Vincent, we came to pick you up because we were worried about you." Tifa said, completing ignoring Yuffie's protests, saying she was being too soft with him. "Come back home with us."

Actually, he wanted to tell her he had no home. He never had, especially after that hateful scientist took away from him the one woman he really loved and turning him into an immortal creature.

"Come back where?" he asked in his velvety smooth voice.

Tifa got closer and sat beside him, also staring at the beautiful woman frozen in front of them.

"If she loved you like you love her, Vincent, she wouldn't like to know you are wasting your life to come and see her dead body every day."

He chuckled.

"It's not like I had an eventful life waiting for me outside."

Tifa sighed and put her hands on her belly. At this point on her pregnancy, it offered her great support.

"If you don't want to live for yourself, at least live for her."

Vincent closed his eyes and, once more, his imagination, adding to his memory, offered him images of his dear Lucrecia. It was better living there, imagining her, than go back to the real world, where he didn't have her in any way at all.

"She probably doesn't care about me."

Tifa bit her inferior lip, a clear sign of nervousness. In a rare moment, some years ago, Vincent had told her the sad story of how he became what he was now. It was all so tragic. Even to that day, Tifa had serious problems understanding what brought Lucrecia to choose Houjou instead of Vincent – not for their looks, but for their personalities. How could someone possibly stand to live with Houjou was something Tifa would never understand.

"She had her reasons to make her choices, but I'm sure she loved you. If she didn't love you as you wanted her to, at least she loved you like we all do."

Tifa didn't get an answer, but she wasn't waiting for one anyways. If there was someone in this world with experience on unanswered questions, this someone was definitely her.

"Oh, please." Yuffie got back on her screaming routine. "Tifa, you're being way too soft with him!"

The Strife sent a nasty look to the princess of Wutai. Considering the ninja's love experiences was near the number zero, it was understandable that she couldn't even imagine what was going on through Vincent's mind at that moment.

"Vincent." Yuffie kept saying, ignoring Tifa's looks, even though she knew she would be in trouble the minute they got out of the underwater cave. "The time to move on had already passed. Unfortunately, this body in front of you is no longer the Lucrecia you loved. Her soul is not there. It's just a frozen body. It's time for you to get out of here, know other people, fall in love again."

Tifa sighed.

"I wish I didn't have to say that, but she is right, Vincent. The Lucrecia you knew is no longer there. She is back on the Life Stream. She must be with Aerith now." And she smiled a sweet smile of nostalgia at the mention of the flower seller.

"And why you think I don't know that?" he asked in a dark tone.

With another sigh, Tifa got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I already said everything I came to say. If you want, come see us in Edge. We all miss you, Marlene being the one that do it most."

She walked and passed by Yuffie.

"Let's go, Yuffie."

However, the ninja girl couldn't move. Her hands were pressed in fists, anger boiling in her veins.

"I understand you've always been alone. I understand losing her to that idiot must have been the most ridiculously painful experience. But, Vincent, you can't stay here forever."

She couldn't see, since he was with his back to her, but he opened a small bitter smile.

"What do you know about it, Yuffie? I slept for years in a coffin. I can stay here for eternity, if that is what I desire."

"Idiot!" her scream echoed through all the cave, repeating itself along the stoned walls. "It's different now! I know you had no one waiting for you before, but now you have us all: me, Tifa, Cloud, Barret, Marlene, Denzel, Cid, Reeve and Nanaki! And our family just keeps getting bigger! And we all miss you, Vincent."

At this point, the girl's voice was just a whisper, which Vincent could hear solely because of his sensitive hearing.

She was really sad with that all, although he couldn't really understand why. What difference did it make in her life? Just one person less really did any difference at all?

"After everything we went through to defeat Sephiroth and all, don't we mean anything to you at all?" fighting against her tears was proving to be a battle way harder than the one she had just mentioned. "Isn't it worthy to live for us, Vincent?"

His eyes widened. He never stopped to think of it under that perspective. He had always been alone and after they went their separate ways, he just got back on being alone. But Yuffie… she was the only one opposing their separation, wasn't she? And she had never been alone. All her life she had a family loving and caring for her as the princess she was. All the others knew solitude well, so that Tifa didn't insist on her asking for him to leave the cave. But Yuffie never knew and would never know what it was like to be completely alone. No one liked loneliness, but Yuffie didn't even know how it was.

However, one way or another, she was right, wasn't she? Admiring Lucrecia's lifeless body wouldn't bring her back. And even if he could, he wasn't the one she chose when she was alive. Maybe it was time for him to lock her in his best memories and live the life he had so far declined.

Getting up, he passed through Yuffie without saying a word. He didn't have to say anything in order for her to understand that, for the first time ever, she was able to make the antisocial Vicent change his mind.

Opening a huge smile, she followed him outside, heading for the submarine where Tifa was already waiting for them for the past couple of minutes.

At the end of the cave, two ethereal figures watched the scene with matching smiles on their lips.

"How good, right, Lucrecia?" the girl's voice was sweet and gentle.

"Yes." Lucrecia answered smiling. "His heart will finally be healed."

Holding hands, the two figures disappeared into the darkness.


	4. Tell him-her

_****_That's the last one, people! Hope you all enjoy! Please, review!

This one was inspires on The Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl"!

Disclaimer: FFVII belongs to Square Enix.

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_**Love In Four Acts **_

**Act Four: Tell him/her**

Marlene was sat in her bed, watching carefully as Denzel organized all of his stuff in a pack. Bit by bit, she saw their room be emptied of everything that belonged to him. His portrait was no longer at the nightstand, half of the drawers were empty, as was half of the closet. He had also already removed his chocobo's race poster of the wall. Marlene always hated the damn thing, but now that wall seemed lifeless without it.

"Are you sure you want to go, Denzel?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice firm.

Denzel smiled and nodded.

"Reeve finally allowed me to begin my training!"

She knew going to the WRO was his dream since he was 10. He wanted to learn how to fight and wanted to help reconstruct Midgard and all the other cities destroyed by Shinra and the Meteor.

"I thought that maybe working with Cloud would make you change your mind."

Once again, he stopped what he was doing to look at her.

"Delivering is fun, but I want to be able to do more than this."

Marlene closed her hands in tight fists, her nails almost breaking her skin. Her perspective was so different! All she ever wanted was to see the people she loved gathered in one place, living happily and having fun with one another. That was the reason why Seventh Heaven had always been an especial place to her.

But Denzel had another way of facing life. He had started as a spoiled boy but ended up as an abandoned child until he got sick and found another family. That is, at least Marlene thought he considered them as family.

She was so immerse in these thoughts that didn't even notice the blond hurricane that passed running through her to be glued to Denzel.

"Denzel o_nii-chan _can't go away!" the little girl stated, her brown eyes filled with tears. "I won't let you go, o_nii-chan_!"

Denzel smiled and Sat, placing the girl on his lap.

"I promise I'll be back whenever I can, Aerith-_ chan._"

"You can't, even like this!" she turned to stare at Marlene. "Marlene _onee-chan_, tell him! Tell him he can't go!"

Marlene faced the floor, her bangs covering her eyes only added to the melancholy on her disturbed face.

"We can't ask him that, Aerith-_chan_. We can't."

Incapable of keep holding her tears, Marlene got up and left the room, paying attention not to go too fast and announce her pain was just too big to be kept in her heart. But just as she crossed the door and was out of Denzel and Aerith sight reach, she ran down the stairs and out of the bar.

"Marlene!" Cloud, who was just coming in, called her but with no success.

He walked to Tifa. She was finishing delivering the food to the few clients that were still at the bar.

"Cloud! Do you mind replacing me? I'll go after Marlene."

He didn't even have to see the worry in Tifa's eyes to agree.

* * *

The sun was already setting in a beautiful explosion of colours, however, the girl crying beneath it didn't give a damn about all its appeal. She was sitting next to the rebuilt Memorial of the Meteor's tragedy, her face buried on her knees, tears running freely down her cheeks.

Knowing he would live and only come back home in some rare occasions hurt in the core of her soul. Knowing he wouldn't be sleeping at her arms reach every night hurt in her heart.

"Marlene." Tifa's voice called, but she didn't rise her head, ashamed of the tears that now soaked it.

Tifa sighed lightly and sat beside the girl, embracing her. Marlene accepted the gesture and got closer, hiding her face now on Tifa's shoulder.

"I know I'm not the person you wanted to come and pick you up, but you can talk to me if you want. Or you can only cry, if it suits you better."

Marlene cried even harder, and before she could stop herself, she was sobbing. Tifa only passed a hand through her head, aware that nothing she could say would make the girl feel better.

"I don't understand why he needs to go." She finally complained after several minutes of sobs-filled silence.

"To be honest, me neither." The Strife admitted. "Personally, I don't think he needs to, but I can't tell him to stay."

"I know. I can't ask him to stay! It wouldn't mean anything if he stayed because one of us asked him to. I wanted him to want to stay with us."

"He goes only because he knows he can always come back. Because he knows we'll always be waiting for him, so he isn't afraid to leave."

Marlene held a sob.

"I didn't want him to go."

"I know, honey, I understand. I can say I've been on this situation before and it wasn't less painful."

Marlene nodded. Although it didn't come to her mind earlier, she knew Cloud had left Tifa on their town and went to join SOLDIER in Midgard.

For Tifa, seeing Marlene suffering brought to her mind all the emotions which invaded her when Cloud left Nibelheim, so long ago. Not knowing when he would come back, or if he would come back had been excruciating. She had been even younger then Marlene back then, and long seven years passed by until she saw his face again.

"Did you cry a lot?" Marlene asked, still feeling ashamed of her break down.

"For three whole days."

"Three days?!"

Tifa smiled and nodded.

"I only noticed my feelings for him when he left. It only made it even more painful."

"Tifa?"

"Yes?"

"You already knew I liked Denzel?"

The Strife laughed.

"Of course I did. You are exactly like me when I was your age."

Marlene smiled.

"What should I do?"

"In my opinion, you should tell him."

"But, and if I'm a little sister to him, just like Aerith-_chan_?"

"He will tell you that and you will have time to heal until you have to face him again."

"You're right."

Tifa smiled and wiped the tears away from Marlene's beautiful face.

"Let's head back? They are probably worried about us."

Marlene nodded and they got up. She immediately took Tifa's hand on hers, seeking for comfort and support on that walk. She felt when Tifa lightly squeezed her hand, assuring everything would be just fine.

* * *

Denzel was pacing on the room he shared with Marlene. One hour had passed since she disappeared and he couldn't help but worry about her.

"It's your fault, o_nii-chan_!" little Aerith grimaced. "It's because you're going that Marlene _onee-chan_ got sad and disappeared!"

Denzel, as a matter of fact, was blaming himself for this exact reason. Since he made that decision, Marlene kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to go. And he always answered with a "yes".

"Aerith-_chan_, apologize for what you just said." Cloud's voice sounded harsher than he meant, but he wouldn't back down.

"But, _otou-san_, it's true!"

"Aerith."

"I'm sorry, _onii-chan_." She said, making a face.

"Don't worry about that." He smiled weakly and gave her a hug.

Aertih took the chance to whisper on her brother's ear without her father's knowledge.

"You know, _onii-chan_, you should tell Marlene _onee-chan_.

Denzel raised an eyebrow to her when Aerith untangled herself from his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He sighed watching father and daughter leave the room. Even a six year old knew how he felt. If it was that obvious, did Marlene know too? And if she knew, did that mean she only saw him as a brother?

The noise of the door opening downstairs woke him from his sad thoughts. Not much after, Marlene entered the room once more, with an ashamed smile and red eyes. Had she been crying?

"Sorry for worrying you, Denzel."

He ran to her and smashed her on a hug.

"It took me half an hour to notice you weren't downstairs with Tifa, but that you had left. I'm so sorry, Marlene."

She smiled and hugged him back.

"Don't you worry about that. Reeve is coming early in the morning, right? Do you need help with anything?"

He didn't let go of the hug, so she couldn't see his face.

"Marlene, would you rather if I stayed?"

Her eyes went wide with shock.

"If it's your dream, Denzel, you should go."

He held her by the shoulders and pushed her a bit, so they could look into each other's eyes.

"Marlene, I… Want you to know that…"

Not managing to wait, Marlene said before he could finish his sentence:

"I like you."

Now he was the one shocked.

"I've always liked you." Her cheeks burned as if in fire, and she got her eyes away from his. "I really wish you had choose to stay, but if it really is your dream, you should go, but promise you'll always come back home!"

Denzel smiled to her.

"I'll come back. And I like you too, Marlene."

She got her eyes back to him.

"Really?"

"Yes."

With that said, he brushed his lips lightly against hers and she responded with all her heart.


End file.
